


So It Goes

by BlackCats



Category: Bravely Default (Video Game) & Related Fandoms
Genre: F/M, Friendship Stuff, Implied Feelings, Relationship Study
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-20
Updated: 2016-02-20
Packaged: 2018-05-22 01:04:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,845
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6065026
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BlackCats/pseuds/BlackCats
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which Tiz attempts to fish, and Agnès decides that now would be a great time to start feeling nostalgic for home.<br/>(Agnès, Tiz, and a day of rest--just the one.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	So It Goes

**Author's Note:**

  * For [GStK](https://archiveofourown.org/users/GStK/gifts).



They had set up camp—just the two of them—a walk of several hours from Caldisla and another hour from Grandship, besides. Agnès had little and less to do since she had traveled here with the explicit intention of doing nothing at all, but she contented herself with sitting upon a log running parallel to the lakeshore and watching Tiz set up his fishing gear. There were a number of thin lines and colorful baubles that he seemed able to manipulate with ease, but it was rather far out of the experience of an Ancheim native such as her; in this case, she would do more harm than good, should she attempt to aid him in stringing his fishing rod.

(It would likely be a repeat of the “bow and arrow” incident, and Agnès was chagrined enough over _that_ fiasco as it was.)

This was their day of rest. Just the one. Edea had dragged Ringabel out on a shopping overture that he would surely be feeling in the pits of his wallet, but the crowded streets and sprawling structures of Caldisla held no restful appeal for the other half of their party, hence why Agnès and Tiz had wandered all the way out to the wayside.

It’d been…nice, so far. All bandied conversation and snacks both found and eaten along the way. They’d made plans to spend some time with Ringabel and Edea later that night, but for now, they were merely a pair on the go, like at the very start of it all.

Agnès leaned back on her palms—thought about the exasperation that had crossed Airy’s face earlier that morning upon hearing of their brief break—and sighed.

Sunlight was filtering in through gaps in the tree branches, illuminating the lake and turning the water into liquid glass. If she looked closely enough, she could see all sorts of fish darting within the depths, and she knew Tiz would have no problem catching their dinner that night.

(Well, not _her_ dinner, of course; her vegetarian diet did not include seafood, after all.)

 But the sight of the sunbathed lake, it reminded her of something else…

“Tiz?”

“Hmm?”

“Are you familiar with any of the prayers used by the Orthodoxy?”

Humming thoughtfully, her friend’s brows furrowed. “No,” he admitted, “I’m afraid not…Oh, but, why do you ask?”

“The atmosphere just now…it reminds me of the Temple of Wind. You recall how I told you of the tranquility of the prayer hall, when the sunshine made its way through the windows?”

“Right, when we entered the Temple of Water,” Tiz replied easily, fingers fiddling with the green lure he had chosen to snag his bait upon. “Did you lead the others in prayer, or did you all pray separately?”

“That would vary upon circumstance. More often than not, I would be either left to my own devices or I would be expected to pray, to call out to the Crystal, while the acolytes joined their faith to mine.”

Tiz hummed again, standing up and flashing her a bashful smile, completed rod in hand. “I…don’t know if I could do that. I think the pressure would be a bit too much for me.”

The modest warmth in his tone made Agnès giggle, her eyes slipping closed. She listened to him as he cast the line out, hearing the soft _plop!_ of it hitting home in the center of the lake. The familiar flow of the words of scripture passed through her mind—quick, familiar—a flock of birds disturbed with but a thought.

“I wouldn’t be so certain of that, Tiz. Have you not repeatedly proven how stalwart and unshakeable you are, even in the face of great danger?”

Upon opening her eyes, she noticed that he had taken a seat near the shore, his gaze flickering to hers and away again.

“Well, I guess there’s a difference between fighting for your life and that of your friends’, and leading a whole congregation in prayer?” he chuckled. “The teachings of the Orthodoxy never really established itself all that much in Norende, but even if I _had_ the knowledge for that kind of thing, I don’t think I’m the right person for the job.”

Agnès tilted her head, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. “Who would you consider to be the ‘right person’ for the job?”

“You, of course.”

His immediate response threw her off, and Agnès felt her cheeks redden. Clearing her throat, she followed his gaze to his gently bobbing fishing lure, letting out a sigh.

“As the wind vestal, it would go without saying that I must be capable of leading a congregation in prayer to the Crystal. However, that was not what I was asking, Tiz.” And he knew it.

Tiz scratched his cheek, eyes forward. “I was telling the truth, though. I don’t know all that much on the church, but I imagine anyone would have to be as dedicated and passionate as you are if they hope to inspire others into believing.”

Again with the compliments! Agnès gave him quite a serious look. “Have I inspired faith in you, Tiz?”

The sudden spike in atmosphere threw Agnès entirely off-guard, and what was worse, she was uncertain on just what _kind_ of tension it was. Was he mad at her? On edge? It came as swiftly as a lightning bolt and as ominously as thunder, sitting thick and heavy between them.

Standing quickly, she bowed her head in steep apology. “…F-Forgive me, that was—“

“It’s fine,” Tiz abruptly interrupted, his tone as light as ever. He even found it in himself to laugh, something Agnès was immensely grateful for, as it helped to set her nerves at ease. “I…couldn’t say whether or not you’ve inspired me into Crystalism, but I _can_ say that you really do inspire me in other ways. It’s, er, sort of like…knowing that a person as good as you is a member of the church, I feel as though I could trust the Orthodoxy a bit more? Or that its teachings don’t mean any harm…as you see them, at least.”

(That last part was added with a whole lot of nervous flair.)

She let out a breath she hadn’t known she’d been holding. “That is quite a relief…Still, I apologize for springing such a personal question on you. What you decide to place your faith in is your business alone.”

He shrugged, entirely at ease to her eyes, and Agnès smiled.

“The last thing I would wish for would be for you to be cross with me,” she continued as she took a seat beside him. Tiz gave her a warm look before returning his attention to his fishing line.

“Don’t even worry about it! It’s nice to hear you talk about your home and your interests, Agnès. You can ask me whatever you’d like.”

He was always so…

“You mentioned before that Norende was— _is_ a small village that largely sits out of the eye of the public, correct?”

“Well…more or less, I’d guess.”

“Does that mean that you were often the last to hear of ongoing events?”

Tiz laughed. “ _That_ was frequent, yeah.”

“Perhaps we are not so different then,” Agnès said with some satisfaction. She played with a few strands of grass, plucking them up before allowing the wind to sweep them away, over the lake and out of sight. “Within the Temple of Wind, I was concerned largely with matters regarding the Crystal and the acolytes; and you, with your home and family. Though the reasons for our private upbringings differ, I feel as though I…”

She had his full attention now. His eyes were on hers, kind and curious.

“…I believe we share a bond, Tiz. A-As if I could…tell you anything, reveal any secret, and it would be safe with you.”

Tiz blinked exactly four times in bewilderment before the brightest smile she had ever seen blossomed across his face, though it still appeared awfully shy, or nervous, and that was only part of the charm. “I-I’m glad you feel that way, Agnès. Me too. I haven’t regretted coming on this journey with you for a moment. You, Ringabel, Edea, Egil, and everybody else we’ve met along the way…meeting you all, it’s made this whole thing…”

There was something distant about the way he trailed off, and something distant in his eyes, when he returned to watching the lake’s heart. It made a place inside of Agnès coil uncomfortably, and she gripped one of his hands on impulse, startling him out of whatever reverie he was in. It was very rare for _her_ to be the one to initiate any kind of physical gesture.

“Tiz…”

He was staring at her with wide eyes and she _couldn’t find the words_.

“I’m here for you as well,” she murmured, the words sounding somewhat hollow to her own ears; a pale echo of feelings she was struggling to bare.

“I know. Thanks, Agnès.”

He clasped her hand for an instant that seemed to last much longer, before finding a firmer grip on the fishing rod and reclining back a bit into the grass. Agnès remained by his side, lost in thought, until Tiz spoke up once more and interrupted the slight train of melancholy she had boarded.

“Agnès?”

“Yes?”

“Tell me a prayer you like. I-If you don’t mind.”

Cocking her head to the side, Agnès swallowed down the _why_ she had nearly asked, and instead agreed to his request easily, as was their way with each other.

She wanted to believe that there were no secrets between them. At least, not anymore.

“This is one I learned from Olivia, back in my days as a vestaling. It traditionally goes… _’Grant me, O Crystals, thy light. In light, may I find protection. In protection, may I find strength. In strength, may I find wisdom. And in wisdom, may I find the knowledge to serve and to guide, to carry out Your desires, until the end of my days.’_ ”

Tiz closed his eyes and nodded, which made Agnès feel…uncertain, but about what exactly, she couldn’t say.

“D-Does fishing often take this long?” she asked, just as a way to break the yawning silence. Typically, she found solace in the quiet, but this did not seem to have the same tranquility she knew within it.

The surface of the water rippled with white-gold light, so blindingly bright that Agnès could no longer see the bottom.

“Longer, actually.” Tiz’s smile was wry this time, and she couldn’t help a small chuckle.

“So we may be here for quite a while more?”

“Probably. You’re free to go back if you’d like, Agnès. Especially if it gets too boring for you! It can… _definitely_ be a while.”

Shaking her head, she only smoothed down the patch of grass she had disturbed earlier, content to remain by his side.

“I’ve no such intention.”

(He suppressed a smile, and Agnès thought he seemed oddly relieved.)

**Author's Note:**

> I'm likely gonna write a story on Edea and Ringabel next, but y'all will never hear the end of me once Bravely Second comes out and I can write Yew and Magnolia too.


End file.
